Hiding Lies
by Yumance
Summary: So this is what it's like to find out your entire life has been a lie. The beliefs and ideals you were raised with mean nothing in the face of the truth. Painful is the betrayal. Run little cherry blossom... to look back is to perish. ON HIATUS.
1. Discover

"_A dog is the only thing on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself."_

_Josh Billings_

**Hiding Lies**

Did you ever fear something so much, that the thought of taking another step forward made you want to die rather than face what would come next? But yet, deep down you realize that there is no other choice for you. You must move on. You must take that next step, for if you were to ignore what you were facing it would be worse than death. Secrets are made to be revealed. But who should be the one to reveal them? Who should take that leap and risk everything to let the truth be known? Are those truths really worth the pain and suffering they would cause?

That is why she was here, standing on top of the head of her former master that had been carved into this mountain so long ago. Sitting down, stretching her legs out she contemplated. Some people say the Hokage monument is symbol of hope for the future, a place to remind us of what we've had to go through to get where we are now. But where are we really? How many people in this village understood what kind of place this really is? The very thought of the village now is enough to turn her stomach. This village is no better than the people they claim to be criminals are. How many are really aware what lay in the hearts of our leaders? The lust for power rivaling that of Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Snickering at that thought, at least those two organizations didn't hide their intentions. At least _they_ told their members and followers what their true goal is. So unlike Konoha.

This is what it feels like to realize that your entire life has been a lie. The beliefs and ideals you were raised with now mean nothing in the face of this truth. Painful is the betrayal. Fear is what is felt when dealing with the next step. But regret? Did regret play a role in what her life had become? Just hours ago she had stumbled upon that room and found out what this place really was. Yet no matter what her life now was, she couldn't bring herself to regret the events that shaped her into what she was now. The missions, the heartbreak… everything played a part in shaping what she had become. Powerful. She had kept her promise to herself and had trained until she passed her own sanin sensei. No longer was she the girl who cowered behind others when faced with true danger. No. Now she could hold her own against the strongest in the village. Even Naruto had trouble keeping up with her at first. But at the end of all their sparring sessions he always managed to win, his massive stores of chakra eventually getting the best of her. Should she tell Naruto? Tell him that his entire existence was a lie? No… she couldn't bring herself to reveal that to her friend. Her teammate had dedicated his life to this village and despite his past he would die to protect anyone residing within its walls. She wouldn't be the one to destroy his loyalty. She had no right to, after everything he had suffered through she had no right to come in and tell him his efforts were wasted on those who didn't deserve his loyalty.

What now? In face of all these truths, she couldn't pretend that everything was the same. Eventually she would speak out against her higher ups about their actions. That would lead to the revelation of her snooping around in restricted files and then the revelation of their own deceit to the village. No doubt that if they found out that she knew she would be locked away in a cell for the rest of her life. With this conclusion came the one that she couldn't go to anyone with this knowledge. If she did, it would without a doubt get back to _them_. They would hunt her down and then do Kami knows what to the person she confided in. She couldn't let another suffer for her discovery.

That left only one option. To flee, leave everything that she'd ever known behind, her friends, her work, and her stability. Where would she go? No doubt it would only take a few days for people to start questioning her disappearance. Then once they figured out that she had left of her own free will she would be branded a missing-nin, hunted down, and killed. The people she had known since she was a child would hunt her down and kill her like they would with any other criminal. Would they think twice before running her through? Would they feel nothing? Hiding behind the illusion that they were following orders and could do nothing to help her?

Where could she go that they wouldn't be able to find her easily? That is what she was up here to contemplate, a mental map of the continent swirling around in her head. Any of the immediate territories surrounding Fire country would be out of the question, the border patrols would find her easily. She would have to travel far away from established ninja villages. The Land of Earth was still basically uncharted territory, true it did have a ninja village but it was situated close to the border. If she could get passed the capital without being noticed then she would be basically home free, she could join up with one of the newly established villages that was tucked away in the wilderness and offer her services. At least until the hunter-nins tracked her down.

Traveling that far would be difficult though. She'd be running practically halfway across the continent, not to mention the time it would take the trek over the mountains that bordered the Land of Earth. Then adding in the time she'd have to spend resting and the time that it would take for her to stop in a village to restock her supplies, it could take almost a month to get to her final destination. Sighing she ran a hand down her face, Shikamaru's coined phrase 'troublesome' fit perfectly with her situation. But there was nothing else she could do, no other option was acceptable. Standing up she formed a few hand signs poofing from view in a swirl of cherry blossoms.

_A/N_

_Alrighty guys, this is a new idea I had. It's my first multi-chapter story, although I may decide not to continue it. Everything depends on what the reviews say! What do you like? What do you think needs to be changed? Have any questions? I know the plot may seem confusing at first, but don't worry! Everything will be explained in due time. Oh, and if anyone wants to volunteer to be a Beta that would just tickle me pink! Thanks for reading!_

_-Yumance_


	2. To Reminisce

"_Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."_

_Andre Gide_

Standing in her apartment, the true weight of the situation seemed to fall on her. She would be leaving everything she'd ever known behind, no more visits to Ino's flower shop to gossip, no more late nights working at the hospital, no more going broke at Ichikarus because Naruto forgot his wallet. Really, that boy could eat more than the entire village combined and her wallet had suffered more than once because of him.

Now, none of that mattered. All that would matter, all that she could afford to think about now was what she could and couldn't afford to take with her. How long would she have before they started hunting her? She would forever be looking over her shoulder.

Maneuvering around the couch she strode to the hallway closet, where she kept most of her equipment. Reaching in, she yanked out one of her bigger packs. Unzipping it as she headed to the kitchen she pulled open a drawer and took pack upon pack of soldier pills out, stuffing most into the pack while setting aside a few to put into her vest pocket later. They weren't healthy to use repeatedly, but with what she would be facing in the next month she would just have to deal with the negative effects. Opening one of her cabinets she took out the ramen packs Naruto had insisted that she keep for when he came over to visit.

'Thank you Naruto!' She grinned; his suggestion had finally come in handy.

Next thing to go in... Medical kit! A good medic never traveled without a kit and it was the one thing she was truly anal about. It had to be organized a certain way, so much so that someone could blindfold her and she would still be able to find anything she needed.

Flitting through the apartment she entered her bedroom, moving to the dresser she started pulling out several sets of sturdy clothes. Those tucked under her arm she moved to the bathroom and gathered her necessities.

Turning back into the kitchen she shoved her newly gathered items into the pack. Grabbing the gear she had tossed on the counter after her last mission she shrugged them on. The Jounin vest had already been restocked with more smoke bombs, scrolls, and exploding bells. Unzipping another of the many compartments she pushed in the soldier pills that had been set aside earlier. The kunai pouch was next, strapping it firmly across her thigh she made sure the flap was secured. The last thing she needed was those sharp little buggers falling out during her travels. Securing her final pouch, the one around her waist she filled it with the things that would be most vital in her journey, a map and compass.

Picking up the backpack she put it on and after turning off the lights she strode towards the front door. Taking one last look around a glint caught her eye.

It was the congratulatory katana she had received from Tsunade after completing her training and being promoted to jounin. While she had received standard training in how to use one, she had never adapted her fighting style to fit a katana and thus had just hung it on her wall as a display of her accomplishments. After a moments hesitation she walked over and grabbed it, shrugged off her pack momentarily while she secured the instrument on her back. Putting the pack back on, she walked again to the door.

One last look, what was she seeing? Her life up to this point? Once she stepped out of her home she would never again be the same person. She could never come back, could never see this place again. The pictures of her family and her friends would have to stay behind. They would never be able to withstand the journey, heck they'd probably be ruined within the first week. Those momentums would be left behind but she would never forget.

Sighing at the loss, one lone tear slid down her cheek as she walked out of her apartment, walked out of her home, and soon to walk away from her village forever.

How ironic. Once upon a time she condemned Sasuke for willingly leaving, did everything within her power to force him to come back. Now look, here she was doing the exact same thing. Walking away forever. In some small way she could understand now what it was like to leave. Sometimes people had to leave for the betterment of those they cared about. Yes, it would hurt and yes it was dangerous. But if you cared about someone you did everything you could to protect them right? Or was that something people in her position told themselves so they wouldn't feel guilty?

Should she feel guilty for leaving instead of revealing the truth?

Pushing the thought aside she maneuvered through the side streets and alleyways of the village. She had to do her best not to be seen so she could prolong the confusion tomorrow morning would bring. Within ten minutes she had reached the wall along the back end of the town.

Crouching behind a building she peered up at the shinobi that were patrolling the wall. Only two of them, and from the bits of conversation she was picking up, they seemed more interested in talking about who was screwing who than actually patrolling.

Casting a quick genjutsu she held her breath, waiting to see if the shinboi would realize what had happened.

Nothing. Not being able to resist the grin that spread across her face, she quickly scaled the wall landing within an arms length of the man closest to her. When there was still no reaction, she let out a breath and pushed off the wall running into the dark dense forest ahead.

_A/N_

_Sorry it took longer than I thought it would to get this chapter up. My desktop went all crazy on me and I had to do a PC Recovery which erased all of my word documents. That means this chapter (which I had almost finished) got deleted and I had to redo the entire thing._


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